Two of 15,000 Canadian fans hope Dustin Pague will beat Yves Jabouin at UFC 161

Dustin Pague (11-7 MMA, 1-3 UFC) very well could be cut from the UFC if he loses his fight to Yves Jabouin (18-8 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at UFC 161. Since his time on “The Ultimate Fighter 14,” he’s gone 1-3 inside the octagon.

But the bantamweight veteran believes he’s got the type of matchup that will help him turn things around, even if the crowd at MTS Centre in Winnipeg might not be on the same page.

Jabouin, after all, is a Canadian (by way of Haiti), and it’s a fair bet he’ll get the cheers.

“But I have two fans on Twitter that are rooting for me, so I’m pumped about that,” Pague told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “Two Canadians. They said they’re going outside the box and rooting for me. Two Canadians out of 15,000.”

Jabouin and Pague open the Facebook-streamed preliminary card of the event, which takes place Saturday, prior to FX-televised prelims and the pay-per-view main card.

Favorite or not, Pague expects to win the crowd over when he and Jabouin get in the cage.

“He likes to stand and bang, so I think we’re going to put on a great show,” he said. “I think it’s a great matchup for me. I’m a little bit taller and longer, and I think that’s one of my strengths, just keeping the distance, keeping him outside of the pocket. He likes to come out swinging for the fences, so I’m looking forward to it.”

In preparation for the fight, Pague went down to Texas to train with Marc Laimon and Team Takedown, where top UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks currently is getting ready for his title fight with champ Georges St-Pierre.

Laimon is known for his coaching in grappling, but Pague said he’s more excited to strike with Jabouin.

“Striker vs. striker, that just makes an exciting fight,” he said. “I’m sure he was excited to hear my name, and I was excited to hear his.”

Pague said he also adjusted his game to defend the spinning attacks of Jabouin, who’s coming off a knockout loss to the heavy-handed Brad Pickett after three straight wins.

A “Fight of the Night” bonus could very well be in reach for the two, but Pague isn’t thinking about all the toys he’ll buy himself with one.

“Right now, all that’s on my mind is food, so I’d probably splurge on some crazy restaurants,” he said.

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